The church/religeon

About a week ago. SmileWavy Needed an address.

+1. I was thinking the same thing about panhandlers too.

What about street performers or common thieves / burglars?

almost. church and religion is big on the new communication age.

GOD? not so much. cant imagine the big guy running a big IT staff trying to sell his wares.

This is an excellent point. And I will debate this with the prof -- just because some market or industry has access to use the 'new economy' that doesn't necessarily mean it offers any added value. Therein lies the key.

Based on the premise above -- if said street vendor would have a cell phone, would that offer a benefit? Would using a CC machine give the vendor more business? If said vendor has a cart which needs to be moved (towed behind a truck or car at the end of the day), would a cell phone help keep in contact with the driver?
Yep - I think the 'end to end' quantifier kinda kills the argument. But if one can isolate an industry completely, then there would be a valid argument. Thus, as mentioned above, the tribe in the Amazon, or the remote tribes of Papua New Guinea are valid candidates: they are not part of the new economy. One might argue that they would have benefits if they were exposed to the new economy, but that's a judgement call, isn't it? (They've been doing just fine on their own without technology - so why change things?)

I guess that is a concept that I grapple with myself -- do we really need all this technology? Is it really adding value? OK - so now I can buy a widget on ebay that I didn't know I could buy. But is that really value added? Could I survive without it? If I purchase it via ebay, does it really bring me value? Same applies to social networking sites -- do I really need to know EVERYTHING my 5,000 friends are doing?

Back in the 80's, the joke was: you had a beeper if you were a doctor, a pimp, or a drug dealer. I suspect drug dealers are one of the first embracers of new technology in order to stay a step ahead of the law...

So - I think so for, the top candidates to challenge my professor are:

1. Diamond business.
2. Street Vendors, especially ones in third-world countires & street performers.
3. Panhandlers/street beggars
4. Isolated tribes / people groups
5. A small-yield farmer - he grows his own goods and replentishes his supply with his own seeds/livestock offspring, sells them in the local market, and needs not advertise to sell more since the demand for his goods is greater than his supply.

I think that's a good start!

If I were to narrow down the requirements for a market, business, or industry that would NOT reap any benefits of the new economy, that business would have the following criteria:
1. It must be an isolated and localized business or market. (Closed-loop industry & market)
2. It must not require any monetary exchange, or at most it must be a cash-only, or a goods/services trade-based business.
3. It must not rely on any advertising, or it can reach its entire target audience without the use of digital-based advertising.
4. The demand for this business is greater than the supply. (Minimizing the necessity for advertising & marketing)

Thanks for the input folks -- keep 'em coming! The Pelican brain trust is a powerful thing -- even though it DOES employ the 'new economy!' :eek:

-Z-man.

gasoline

infact, gasoline defies all businees rules. supply and demad HA! more like greed for $$$$$

Don't know how it is in other areas, but around here, I doubt the Internet has had any significant impact on LCOs (lawn care guys) whatsoever...

Z -

Your professor has given you the business version of the Kobayashi Maru, which is fine and dandy.

There is no, "New Economy" in the strict sense: Business has always been about connecting product with consumers, influencing the supply and demand curve, the Edgeworth Box, the bottom line.

The new is in the speed at which suppliers can influence demand. He could have easily asked the same question concerning the telegraph, telephone, or fax machine: They are all one in the same, a tool to create or modify communication opportunities and shorten the time from proposal to deal.

I could do all my farm business with a phone...the data is all there, it is simply in the presentation with new tools.

Look at it this way: I rarely shop at a mall, do most of my business online. The only difference is I have to pay someone to deliver it to me. The product still has to be made, shipped and delivered. There is nothing new about the product, say shirts, just in the way they were procurred. Which, in the old days was done from a catalog, over the phone.

The new is in the tool.

aha! i know a product/service that's not affected by the internet at all.

EXTRATERRESTIAL/ALIEN commerce!